Body found in Escalon river

ESCALON — Authorities found a woman’s body near the banks of the Stanislaus River early Tuesday in Escalon, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said.

California Highway Patrol officers discovered the body about 3:40 a.m. after responding to a report of a possible car accident in the 25800 block of East River Road, authorities said.

Officers found an abandoned vehicle on the roadway. The woman’s body, which showed signs of “severe trauma,” was found on an embankment about 60 feet from the vehicle, authorities said.

Sheriff’s detectives were called to investigate. They have ruled the woman’s death a homicide, authorities said. The woman’s identity is being withheld pending notification of family, deputies said. A determination of the cause of death is pending autopsy and toxicology results, officials said.

It is not yet known when the woman died. Her death marks either the Sheriff’s Office’s 12th homicide investigation of 2012 or its first of 2013.